Posted on September 24, 2025
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Cameron Parish awarded $122M for marsh restoration
- Project funded by Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement
- First phase includes seven new drainage structures near Calcasieu Lake
- Future work will add channels, dredged material, and upgrades
Cameron Parish will receive a sizable grant to help rebuild its vanishing marshlands, state officials announced.
The Calcasieu-Sabine Basin will get $122 million from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement for drainage improvements geared to help marsh plants grow and halt erosion.
The basin, on trend with the entire Louisiana coastline, has experienced dramatic wetland loss, with more than 128,000 acres lost since 1932 and a projected 110,000 at risk of loss in a future without intervention, based on data from the United States Geological Survey.
The first phase of the project, planned along the southeastern edge of Calcasieu Lake, will build seven drainage structures with elements of a levee that allow water to flow back and forth from either side. The design is meant to balance water and salinity levels between the lake and the rest of the watershed, using natural events such as low tides and cold fronts to keep the marsh from being inundated with water.
“This funding allows us to move from planning to construction on one of our most critical restoration efforts,” Gov. Jeff Landry said Thursday in a Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority news release.
Future phases of construction include up to 18 miles of channels to improve water flow into the marsh and deposits of dredged material to promote the growth of marsh vegetation. Existing water control structures around Calcasieu Lake will also get maintenance upgrades as needed.
Estimates of the project’s total cost come to about $260 million, according to the CPRA. A previous $28.6 million grant was put toward planning costs with any remainder to be rolled over for construction and maintenance.
“The Calcasieu-Sabine project reflects the kind of large-scale, science-based restoration prioritized in Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan,” CPRA executive director Michael Hare said.. “We’re now moving from planning to action in one of the most vulnerable areas of our coast, where this investment will make a measurable difference.”
